HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1100
EZEKIEL 2
wheels stopped. When the beings flew upward,
the wheels rose up, for the spirit of the living
beings was in the wheels.
22 Spread out above them was a surface like
the sky, glittering like crystal. 23 Beneath this
surface the wings of each living being stretched
out to touch the others’ wings, and each had
two wings covering its body. 24 As they flew, their
wings sounded to me like waves crashing against
the shore or like the voice of the Almighty* or
like the shouting of a mighty army. When they
stopped, they let down their wings. 25 As they
stood with wings lowered, a voice spoke from
beyond the crystal surface above them.
26 Above this surface was something that
looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli.
And on this throne high above was a figure
whose appearance resembled a man. 27 From
what appeared to be his waist up, he looked
like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And
from his waist down, he looked like a burning
flame, shining with splendor. 28 All around him
was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in
the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory
of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it,
I fell face down on the ground, and I heard
someone’s voice speaking to me.
Ezekiel’s Call and Commission
“Stand up, son of man,” said the voice.
“I want to speak with you.” 2 The Spirit came
into me as he spoke, and he set me on my feet.
I listened carefully to his words. 3 “Son of man,”
he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against
me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling
against me to this very day. 4 They are a stubborn
and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you
to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord
says!’ 5 And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for remember, they are rebels—at least they
will know they have had a prophet among them.
6 “Son of man, do not fear them or their
words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats
surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark
scowls, even though they are rebels. 7 You must
give them my messages whether they listen or
not. But they won’t listen, for they are completely rebellious! 8 Son of man, listen to what
I say to you. Do not join them in their rebellion.
Open your mouth, and eat what I give you.”
9 Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out
to me. It held a scroll, 10 which he unrolled. And
I saw that both sides were covered with funeral
songs, words of sorrow, and pronouncements
of doom.
2
3
The voice said to me, “Son of man, eat
what I am giving you—eat this scroll! Then
go and give its message to the people of Israel.”
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2 So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the
scroll. 3 “Fill your stomach with this,” he said.
And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey
in my mouth.
4 Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people
of Israel and give them my messages. 5 I am not
sending you to a foreign people whose language
you cannot understand. 6 No, I am not sending
you to people with strange and difficult speech.
If I did, they would listen! 7 But the people of
Israel won’t listen to you any more than they
listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hardhearted and stubborn. 8 But look, I have made
you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are.
9 I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their
angry looks, even though they are rebels.”
10 Then he added, “Son of man, let all my
words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. 11 Then go to
your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is
what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Do this whether
they listen to you or not.”
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a
loud rumbling sound behind me. (May the glory
of the Lord be praised in his place!)* 13 It was
the sound of the wings of the living beings as
they brushed against each other and the rumbling of their wheels beneath them.
14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away.
I went in bitterness and turmoil, but the Lord’s
hold on me was strong. 15 Then I came to the
colony of Judean exiles in Tel-abib, beside the
Kebar River. I was overwhelmed and sat among
them for seven days.
A Watchman for Israel
16 After seven days the Lord gave me a message.
He said, 17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as
a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive
a message from me, warn people immediately.
18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under
the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver
the warning, they will die in their sins. And I
will hold you responsible for their deaths. 19 If
you warn them and they refuse to repent and
keep on sinning, they will die in their sins.
But you will have saved yourself because you
obeyed me.
20 “If righteous people turn away from their
righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I
put in their way, they will die. And if you do not
warn them, they will die in their sins. None of
their righteous acts will be remembered, and I
will hold you responsible for their deaths. 21 But
if you warn righteous people not to sin and they
listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and
you will have saved yourself, too.”
22 Then the Lord took hold of me and said,
1:24 Hebrew Shaddai. 3:12 A possible reading for this verse
is Then the Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the Lord rose
from its place, I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me.